Page 2180 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
initiatives and development programs, further economic growth can be achieved in the territory.
The ACT is considered to have a knowledge-based economy, with the highest concentration of knowledge-based activity in Australia. With over $800 million being spent on research and development each year, innovation is an essential component of a successful economy. Innovation is not only the domain of new or high-tech industries but also essential to the future of many of Australia’s traditional sectors.
The current business environment is highly competitive, and investment is important on all levels. As research requirements in both the public and private sectors increase in the ACT and across the nation, so must ACT research and development in institutions such as the ANU, the University of Canberra, the CSIRO and other private facilities. We heard a little earlier from Ms Porter on the CSIRO.
The ANU and the CSIRO head a great deal of this research, with the ANU spending over $600 million a year to position itself consistently as Australia’s top-ranking university and in the top 25 universities worldwide. Thirty per cent of ANU research is in the top five per cent worldwide, and the CSIRO is rated as one of the top four most influential research agencies in the world with respect to environmental and agricultural sciences.
Australia has a reputation for adopting new technologies at a faster rate than most other countries and enters the new millennium with one of the highest rates of internet access in the world. Such research indicators have led to several world-class biotechnology and ICT institutions basing themselves in the nation’s capital. These include the John Curtin School of Medical Research; as we have heard earlier, the Gadi Research Centre in Medical and Health Sciences; the National Health Sciences Centre; and the National ICT Centre of Excellence, amongst others.
Of note, the ACT has significant capabilities in space science, defence technology, public administration, environmental industries, sports science and management. This has led to the ANU signing an MOU to join an elite international group of research institutions, planning to build, as we have heard earlier, the world’s most powerful telescope. The ACT government seeks to support such projects and has provided funding of over $10 million towards the ANU and the Motor Traders Association of Australia Super Venture Partnership.
As businesses are growing there has been a corresponding two per cent increase in the number of employed persons. This translates to over 16,000 jobs having been created within the ACT over the last five years, with a drop of 44.4 per cent in unemployment over the same period. In July 2006 alone, 800 people found jobs in Canberra and the number of jobless fell by 300. This has contributed to the lowest unemployment rate on record in Australia, a record low rate of 2.8 per cent. Only the Northern Territory has come close, and that was 2.9 per cent in 1980. The future is positive for employment within the ACT, and the continued skills development in conjunction with education can only further this trend.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: The debate has now concluded.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .